'Theatre has a unique, intimate atmosphere' says Robin Cousins

The creative director of Holiday on Ice, who won BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1980, has recently been seen on TV as a judge on ITV1's Dancing On Ice.

He toured the world with Electric Ice and Ice Majesty and has appeared in dozens of ice shows and is a respected sports commentator.

He said: "The first time I came to Theatre Royal Brighton was for a meeting with the then owner, which was in the early Eighties when I was first putting together the idea of Electric Ice.

"It was David Land - he was a very important man and quite a figurehead in the theatre industry and Theatre Royal Brighton was this gem.

"It was just beautiful to come and see. We didn't see a performance. I stood in the auditorium in its natural empty state. There was something that was great about it then."

Mr Cousins said he was next on stage at Theatre Royal Brighton performing in the Rocky Horror Show - a three week stint that persuaded him to move to Brighton.

The theatre itself, he said, has a unique, intimate atmosphere.

He said: "Because of the closeness to the audience, it does have that feel - you can see their faces all the time. Working in ice rinks, the audience are half a mile away. In Theatre Royal Brighton the audience are so close, especially with something like the Rocky Horror Show, they almost become part of the show.

"It has always had a wonderful atmosphere, quite bijou. Backstage it is quaint and old and there is histrionics there.

"As much cosmetic work has happened, it is still like being in someone's living room backstage, almost having to duck under the door to get to the dressing room. It is a great space to perform and a great space to watch."

Mr Cousins is starring in a rock opera called Paul - Strange Kind of Hero during the Brighton Fringe at Bartholomew's Church, Ann Street, from May 10 to 20. Visit brightonfestivalfringe.org.uk.

Kitty Ann, Chair of Same Sky and TRB Theatregoer said: "I can remember being knocked out by Another Country when it came to Brighton and Amadeus. I was even there heavily pregnant, up in the top seats which are boiling hot, about 35 years ago.

"About ten years ago I was meeting my husband, Michael, at the Theatre Royal Brighton for a Shakespeare production which Judy Dench was directing.

"Michael got there first and sat in his seat before I arrived. Somebody tapped him on the shoulder and said 'I just adore your wife, I think she's so wonderful' and Michael thought 'who's he'?

"I arrived shortly after and gave him a big hug and a kiss and he got a stony look from this man. Michael asked me 'who's that man behind me who thinks you're so wonderful'?

"I'd never seen him before which is when we realised he thought my husband was Michael Williams, Judy Dench's husband, to whom he bears a striking resemblance."

Michael Ann, Deputy Lieutenant and Brighton Arts Commissioner, said: "Going there is always a special occasion when you walk into that foyer. In days gone by we would always get the pre-London productions and it was always exciting to think you saw something first before it went on to run in the capital.

"It's a very cosy, friendly place and comes from a great past of theatres which you don't see so many of.

"One reason it was so charming is there was a little bar at the back of the stall with a wonderful lady. Even though we were only there about seven times a year she would remember what we drank and have our drinks ready for us."

"It's lovely to see money being spent on the theatre to keep it up to scratch and comfortable."

Martin Blofeld, from Brighton, was a manager at the theatre for the eight years in the 90s and remembers his time fondly. He said: "It has such a family atmosphere - everyone really got on with each other and had fun.

"There is something about it here that holds you for a while - people tend to stay for years.

"One of my clearest memories was when there was a bomb scare in the middle of a show. Someone had left an attache case in the front row and left mid-performance.

"It turned out he had just gone next door and came back in but we had to get everyone out anyway.

"I also used to enjoy working on Rocky Horror Show nights - we would confisgate water pistols and then run up and down corridors attacking each other with them."

Beryl Tucknott, 72, from Whitehawk Road, said she had been coming to the theatre since she was a little girl.

She said: "My family owned a greengrocers on Sydney Street and we used to get free tickets in exchange for advertising shows.

"I used to come to everything - all through the war - and I still do. I think I must have seen more shows here than anybody ever.

"I particularly love musicals - it is the costumes, the music and the fun of it all.

"The only difference is I have to pay now - although as a pensioner I get a bit off."

Brenda Court, 67, of West Dene, said she had been coming to the theatre a lot since she became a widow.

She said: "It gives me something to do and a social way to meet up with others.

"I really think the theatrical venue is as good as any in London - its age gives it real character."

Nicky and Brian Masters, 53 and 54, come all the way from Portsmouth to see matinees at the TRB around three times a year.

Nicky said: "It is a nice day trip, we wander around the city afterwards and get something to eat.

"It is worth travelling to this venue because there are lovely productions here. There is just more choice than in Portsmouth.

"I think one of the best ones I have seen here is The Graduate - it is one of my favourite plays anyway and it was done really well."

Andrea Brooks is founder of theatre and arts company Zygo. It is an official assocaite company of the Theatre Royal Brighton.

She said: "There are three years. When I was very young, about seven or eight, I went to see David Essex in Godspell at the Theatre Royal Brighton. It was a seminal moment which made me realise I wanted to spend the rest of my life in the theatre.

"In 2002 we put on a production called Julia Pastrana. It was in total darkness. It was an unbelievably difficult feat, to black out a 200-year-old theatre. It meant working closely with all the staff at the theatre and was an amazing experience.

"It was fatastic and bold and brave."

Deborah Grubb is the former chairwoman of the Gardner Arts Centre. Said she remembered visiting the theatre as a young girl.

She said: "I used to come down to Brighton with my parents to see pantomimes when I was nine or ten.

"That's back in the 40s and 50s but the theatre was very much the same as it is today as I remember it. They've kept it very much as it was and in a way that's the beauty of it.

"I think I remember coming to see some Gilbert and Sullivan. I had an uncle who used to take me to see Peter Pan but one day he said I was getting too old for that so he took me to Gilbert and Sullivan instead.

"I think it was HMS Pinafore. I was a bit disappointed because I was expecting a children's pantomime!

"The last thing I saw was the ballet Rambert. It was absolutely amazing. The performers are so athletic and strong.

"They seem to host a lot of ballet even though it's not a very big stage for it. It seems to work terribly well.

"My friend Susan Hampshire was here recently for a play and came to stay with me. I know they are terribly, terribly keen on new writers and new plays at the theatre and that's lovely when it happens, although there's a core traditional audience who like to see traditional theatre so it's very brave.

"I'm also really excited about what they've done with the walkway through there now. It's really lovely and a really nice birthday present for them.

"They do some wonderful things for children and their storytelling events are frightfully good at introducing new children to the theatre.

"Once they go there they never forget. It's just magic to take a child to the theatre."

John Linstrum was one of the producers of Made In Brighton, a company that has staged a number of performances at the Theatre Royal Brighton.

Among them was a production of Crime and Punishment in which the audience wandered around the myriad of rooms in the theatre to watch different scenes.

He said: "I began going about 20 years ago. It's a lovely theatre. It's very beautiful and I suppose my first impression was that it's very intimate.

"It's quite small even though it sits a lot of people and is a very classic theatre - both in its shape and that everyone feels quite close to the stage.

"I like the way you have a different experience whatever level you're on but no perspective is better than any other.

"I love the fact it's got those quirky features and the little rooms off the main auditorium.

"It's been a part of Brighton's theatrical tradition for a long time and a lot of the great actors came down from London. Of course Olivier's association with it obviously helped with the image of the place.

"I think that actors love playing there because it feels intimate to them as well. Modern theatres just don't have the warmth of somewhere like the Theatre Royal Brighton. The building itself has had an extraordinary history.

"We had a production of Crime and Punishment which used the whole building to create different scenes and it was a fantastic experience, taking the audience up and down staircases and into those small rooms to watch.

"Perversely it's probably the favourite thing I've seen at the Theatre Royal Brighton and it wasn't even on the stage but I've seen plenty of other good things there as well."

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